Prime Minister takes another U-turn on EU referendum bill September 3, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has made another U-turn on the EU referendum, backing down on his initial refusal to impose a period of purdah in the run-up to an in/out vote. Cameron has come under increasing pressure from Tory backbenchers who said that “purdah” – a pre-referendum campaign period – would ensure the fairness of a [...]
Umunna offers Corbyn camp an olive branch September 3, 2015 THE LABOUR party must demonstrate unity regardless of the outcome of its Labour leadership contest, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has said. Alluding to the far-left front-runner Jeremy Corbyn in a speech to the Westminster think tank Policy Network yesterday, Umunna said: “I do not think we can simply dismiss out of hand those who [...]
Market carnage: The funds that survived August’s global sell-off September 3, 2015 Traditional safe havens such as bond funds and gold were the best places to invest during August’s market carnage. Fears over slowing global growth and the potential for a wave of deflation to emanate out of China have pushed investors into areas which some commentators had recently been decrying as worthless investments – such [...]
Lego sales out of this world as its toy figures head into space September 3, 2015 LEGO’S toys and sales both – quite literally – skyrocketed yesterday after Denmark’s first astronaut set off into space yesterday taking 26 Lego toy figures with him. The Danish company designed 26 toy astronaut figures bearing the logo for the European Space Agency (ESA) to accompany 38 year-old Andreas Mogensen aboard the Russian Soyuz rocket, [...]
Halfords shares in a spin after poor cycle sales September 3, 2015 SHARES in bikes-to-car parts retailer Halfords took a downhill course yesterday after this summer’s wet weather hit cycling sales in the second quarter. Group like-for-like sales dropped 1.3 per cent in the eight weeks to the end of August – with cycling recording a sharp fall of 11 per cent. The company blamed the poor [...]
US construction growth sparks Ashtead profits September 3, 2015 Equipment hire group Ashtead topped the FTSE 100 leaderboard yesterday, bucking the woes of the wider sector to unveil encouraging first-quarter results. The company, which derives 85 per cent of its revenues from its North American business Sunbelt, reaped the rewards of the continued US construction recovery as it posted a 20 per cent rise [...]
Business sticks up for rise in zero-hour contracts September 3, 2015 Business groups have defended zero-hours contracts after official figures showed that the number of people on contracts with no guarantee of a minimum number of hours has increased by almost 20 per cent in the last year. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the number of people on zero-hours contracts as their [...]
Volkswagen’s board backs extension of chief exec Martin Winterkorn’s contract September 3, 2015 Volkswagen yesterday proposed the extension of chief executive Martin Winterkorn’s contract until the end of 2018, proving that he has the company’s backing following a high-profile power struggle with former chairman Ferdinand Piech, who was ousted earlier this year. The executive committee of the supervisory board of the German car manufacturing giant unanimously voted in [...]
Living wage is set to boost women’s pay September 3, 2015 Three in every 10 female employees in the country are set to receive pay rises due to the new minimum wage for over-25s, according to a report out today by independent think-tank the Resolution Foundation. The measure, announced in July’s Budget, will initially be set at £7.20, 50p above the National Minimum Wage which [...]
US companies weathering the global storm and keep hiring September 3, 2015 AMERICAN companies kept hiring in August despite global market turbulence over the last couple of weeks, according to a survey released yesterday. Strong labour market figures could support the case for a US rate hike this year – or even this month – although projections for monetary tightening have been pushed back due to worries [...]
